November 28, 2004

Fred Barnes spoke at the annual meeting of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Rockville, Maryland, about Bush's plans for his second term and his support for Israel. Barnes spoke as well to a primal fear of American Jews -- that evangelical Christians are out to get them.

Barnes also addressed the strong support of evangelical Christians for Israel. Identifying himself as a member of that group, Barnes said he had "never heard a single" evangelical Christian say that his or her support for the Jewish state is based on prophecies of the apocalypse -- as some often claim.

They support Israel because it's a religious country, a democratic country, an outpost of Western civilization and America's greatest ally, he said.

Barnes went on to make a suggestion for Jews who are afraid of these Christians, and he did it far more tactfully than I would have.

He did concede that some evangelicals may want to convert Jews, and that the best response is to "say sorry, not interested." But he said many others understand that attempts at converting Jews are inappropriate, disrespectful and wrong.

See? We can learn from the gentiles. If someone wants us to convert, we say, "No, thank you." And we remain friendly enough to continue our political alliance in support of Israel, which has very few friends these days, especially on the Left, where so many Jews find themselves.

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